Psychic Overlord

AN: Changed the power of Alina to elemental summoning rather than illusion because there’s already someone else who does illusions better. As for Nathan’s kinetic abilities, it might be similar to Soren and Eleanor (puppet), but then again, all esper abilities are from the same source, as stated earlier in the story, so they aren’t that diverse.

-----------------------------------------------------------

The arena flared with energy as Nathan zigzagged toward Alina, his body jerking around sharply with each kinetic burst, like a human bullet bouncing off invisible walls.

His shoes left minor scorch marks where he landed, and even in his Bronze Division uniform, the speed of his motion was impressive, but Alina didn’t flinch.

Her phoenix projections roared forward, leaving golden trails as they tore through the air. One curved high, diving from above, while the other skimmed low to cut off Nathan’s escape.

From the Titanium platform’s area for important spectators, Maria Rosenthia tilted her head. "Such pretty birds. Can they cook meat too?"

"Projection-type elemental summons, they’re not physical, but they carry thermal force. She’s learned to bind heat signatures to light." Sophia explained idly.

"Not bad for Bronze," Kaizer murmured, eyes tracking the fight.

His telesthesia made every fluctuation of motion feel slow and obvious to him, but he respected the effort.

Back on the field, Nathan burst left and then right again, barely evading the twin flaming birds. His momentum was explosive but hard to stop since he skidded on landing, losing balance slightly.

Alina narrowed her eyes and took the chance by weaving another symbol then raising both hands.

In a flash, four glowing chains of light burst from the arena floor, aiming to bind Nathan’s limbs mid-dash.

"Elemental projection mixed with light binding? She’s layering effects already?" Hector said from the Gold Division, surprised.

Lisa smirked with interest. "Looks like she didn’t come to play."

Nathan reacted fast, but not fast enough. Two chains wrapped around his arms mid-motion, halting his burst with a hard snap and sending him crashing onto the floor while coughing dust, but he quickly planted his feet and gritted his teeth.

"Don’t blink folks! Nathan’s about to break his own limit!" Lysandra called playfully from the center.

Sure enough, the kinetic energy stored in his body surged outward. A red ring pulsed around his legs and in a crack of sound, he launched upward, dragging the chains with him.

The arena shield sparked as his body smashed into the upper edge, flipping mid-air, then rebounded downward in a tight spiral.

Alina’s hands moved again, another flaming creature forming between her palms, this one shaped like a giant hawk.

Before it could fully emerge, Nathan came crashing down like a missile, his leg wrapped in kinetic force.

BOOM!

The collision sent a shockwave through the marble arena, cracks forming where Nathan’s kick connected with Alina’s hastily raised elemental defense barrier. The summoned phoenix shattered mid-cast, fragments of light scattering across the floor like burning glass.

Alina was flung backward but managed to stabilize in the air, her feet bracing against a summoned platform of solid light.

The crowd roared with shock and excitement.

"Holy shit! Did you see that?!" One Bronze Division student cried.

"His power output just doubled!" Another gasped with surprise.

From the Heir Pavilion, Rafael Azmadi whistled. "That kid’s got grit.... and a bit of a suicide complex."

Davion rolled his eyes. "Please. He’s just throwing himself around and hoping something hits. Typical Bronze Division, all flash and zero finesse."

Ryu Kurosawa narrowed his eyes. "Not quite. That acceleration’s not brute force, it’s regulated. He’s using nerve impulse feedback to auto-correct between jumps."

Alexei nodded. "And the girl? Holding her mid-air position, multi-casting and defense... its certainly an impressive poise under pressure."

Back on the throne platform, Rina leaned over slightly, arms still folded. "She’s got control, but no killing instinct while he’s got instinct, but no control. They’ll burn each other out before anyone wins."

"And when they do, whoever stands won’t be the one who hit hardest. It’ll be the one who adapted first." Kaizer added softly in agreement.

In the arena, the tide of the match shifted.

Alina clapped her hands together, her voice rising in a strange, harmonic chant. Four new summons erupted, being two eagles, one serpent of flame, and a humanoid burning knight with a sword of starfire.

The light constructs circled her, a flaming constellation.

Nathan, panting and visibly bruised, lowered his stance, his eyes gleaming.

Then came a subtle shift as instead of firing forward, he let his kinetic energy ripple down through the marble beneath him, causing the arena to crack.

A split-second later, the entire floor exploded upward in a jagged dome of ruptured force.

Lysandra blinked in surprise, her smile sharpening. "Oh, clever boy! He used rebound velocity on the terrain. That’s certainly some Bronze-level creativity right there." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Alina’s constructs scattered, their cohesion breaking slightly as she lost altitude and had to reform her midair footing and Nathan utilized that opening.

He reappeared behind her in an arched leap, this time slower but more deliberate, dragging a condensed sphere of force between both palms.

It was barely stable, his hands shaking, but the intent was clear.

"Mini-core compression technique, huh? Someone’s been studying above their rank." Sophia murmured.

Kaizer’s eyes narrowed. "If that thing detonates too early, it will cause more damage to him than her."

Back in the Heir Pavilion, Davion scoffed. "Pfff, filthy low-level theatrics. The fool doesn’t even understand what he’s holding."

Still, Rafael looked curious. "Maybe, but sometimes, raw will pushes technique further than it should."

Nathan thrust the unstable sphere forward with all his power, roaring: "Eat this!!"

Alina’s pupils constricted into needle points as she responded with a last-minute defense, all her summons merging into a single dome of burning wings, encasing her like a fortress of flame.

BOOOOOOM!

The explosion wasn’t just sound, it was pressure, visible distortion, and heat, shaking the glass walls of the arena and even causing the protective barrier to flicker momentarily.

The marble floor split down the center, and both figures were blown away in opposite directions.

For a moment, dust and smoke filled the coliseum while silence fell as the screen glitched slightly from the feedback of raw energy overload.

When the scene cleared, one could see the state of the two.

Nathan lay on his side, chest heaving, one hand raised shakily while Alina sat kneeling, eyes wide with stunned disbelief, her summons gone.

A red light blinked beside Nathan’s name which meant that this match was over.

Lysandra’s voice returned, full of warmth and delight.

"Match concluded! Nathan Greaves wins by technical knockout! His kinetic sphere strike broke the summon shield just enough to cause destabilization. A creative, if risky, Bronze Division victory!"

The crowd erupted, clapping, laughing, hollering in response to the fellow who lay there like a dead dog.

Lisa whistled. "Damn, that wasn’t Bronze. That was raw, unpolished Diamond."

Rina just smirked faintly. "How cute."

Kaizer... said nothing, but gave a small nod of approval.

In the Heir Pavilion, Davion leaned back with a sigh. "Well, that was exhausting to watch. Weaklings certainly drain the energy of the strong in more ways than one."

However Ryu, still staring at the screen, murmured. "It was quite a good opening."

And Rafael?

He raised his glass. "Here’s to the rookies, because sometimes they’re the best show."

The screen above the arena flickered again as the next names appeared, [Maya Sun vs. Trent Hollow].

A girl in twin braids and high-tension gloves squared off against a boy covered in thick stone-like plating.

The second match was short but explosive since Maya’s ability, which was plasma-thread weaving, turned the battlefield into a glowing net of lethal wire, carving through Trent’s defenses with frightening precision.

He surrendered before her final thread touched his throat.

"Smart dude, would’ve lost an ear otherwise." Hector muttered.

"Her control’s surgical. Give her a year and she might be worthy of recruitment." Sophia added, jotting down a note on her tablet.

Another bout - [Zahir Uko vs. Kelsie Grant] - followed soon after, thrilling the crowd with a display of tactile magnetism versus illusionary clones.

Zahir used magnetic pulses to detect the density changes in the real Kelsie’s form.

When he finally pinpointed her, he snapped metal shards into a pinwheel trap and closed the match.

From the Special Echelon platform, Tessa Asano chuckled. "I like that one, straight to the point!"

The next match had everyone on edge - [Jun Park vs. Imani Kora].

It opened with silence, then erupted into a barrage of sonic blades and vibrational barriers.

Imani, a sound-based esper, clashed rhythmically with Jun, whose ability manipulated air density.

Their battle turned into a concert of pulses and beats like live dubstep, the arena flashing in sync with each reverberating clash.

"A concert and a duel, add some booze and it’ll be my kind of fight." Roland chuckled with raised eyebrows.

Eventually, Jun collapsed, ears bleeding and vision spinning.

"Winner: Imani Kora! A masterclass in acoustic warfare!" Lysandra announced.

Then came [Brock Durn vs. Saeko Lim], which the audience called The Juggernaut vs. The Wisp.

Brock’s body manipulation allowed him to grow three times his size, but Saeko was vapor... literally.

Her steam-form phased through his attacks, condensing briefly to tag his vital points before vanishing again.

She won by ring-out after leading him into a trap of her own condensation clouds.

Even Kaizer’s eyes flickered with mild interest.

"She’s going to give Gold Division kiddos a headache next year." Maria commented with crossed legs.

And so it continued, with clashes of ice spikes versus burning sand, hextech illusions against brute elemental force, weaponized flower pollen versus explosive spit.

Each match was a window into raw potential, dangerous creativity, and youthful ambition.

By the time the final Bronze fight ended, the entire crowd had gone from polite applause to full-throated roars.

Arguably, the low level Bronze Division had made its mark, but it was now time for some high class fights as the silver division was stepping forward.